Growing up
by White.Black.Truth.Lies
Summary: K-Unit as teenagers? Hmm... intrigued? Warning: Forget anything you've heard about K-Unit. Oh, and if anyone has a better title, please feel free to tell me!
1. Snakelet

**AN: Hey, I know this isn't caught, I'm sorry, this has just been niggling at me for ages and I had to post it.**

**I have no idea if a baby snake is called snakelet, or even if a baby snake has a name other then baby snake but for my chapter idea thing to work I had to put up with this, if anyone wants to put me out of my misery and tell me whether or not it is the right name, I will thank you immensely.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider.**

* * *

Tyson Evans was sixteen years old, blonde haired, green eyed and, currently glowering at his ex-girlfriend, Linda.

Linda, having been with him for six years, wasn't fazed. She met his gaze calmly and continued listening to the teacher with one ear. She scribbled a note on her writing pad and ripped it out carefully, trying to avoid attention. Tyson watched her quietly, still glaring as he took in every action she made.

The boy sitting next to her seemed oblivious, one of his arms wrapping around her shoulders as he laughed at something the teacher said. Tyson looked up; his gaze following the other boys as he tried to figure out what could possibly be so hilarious it enabled him to guffaw like that. When he noticed the diagram the health teacher was showing them he couldn't help but roll his eyes. He was so immature! What does Linda see in him?

A piece of paper landed on his lap.

Tyson looked down, then back up, still frowning as he contemplated whether or not to ignore it. Eventually, he picked it up, glancing at the teacher as he unfolded the slip.

_I'm sorry._

Tyson stared at the two little words, tilting his head to the side and snarling mentally before looking up once again. Slowly and deliberately he brought the paper up, and tore it in half, glaring heatedly and mouthing the words. _Doesn't matter, you should have told me._

Linda's eyes watered and she looked like she was going to start sobbing. _But I'm sorry!_ She mouthed back.

Tyson stared at her, taking in her large brown eyes, and quivering lips as a hand started rubbing her shoulder and the immature boy holding her against him turned in his seat and started glaring at Tyson.

Tyson shook his head in disgust and turned away, pretending to concentrate on the teacher and ignoring all of Linda's attempts to get his attention.

* * *

School went slowly that day, Tyson tried to ignore the whispers and stares. Everyone was shocked. The _It_ couple had separated, and the new boyfriend was none other than Mason _hate Tyson's guts _Rogers. It was the schools local gossiper's dreams. Nothing this exciting had happened since the school dance when a group of kids had accidentally walked in on the principal and her new boyfriend...

Finally, after five more classes and a football practise Tyson was free. He practically ran for his bike and unchained it in record time.

The ride home was quick and cold. Winter was settling in and with it came snow and ice. Tyson had to stop a couple of times to navigate the muddy roads and a car that could not see through the fog almost hit him.

He pulled into his driveway and unlatched the back gate, locking it behind him and kicking the stand on his bike

Well, that had been a shit day. He walked across the mushy lawn and pushed open the back door. He was so tired. And it had nothing to do with footy practise; he just couldn't believe Linda would do something like this! She could have told him if she wanted to break up, not publicly announce it by letting him walk in on her and her new boyfriend...

Tyson sighed. He wanted to go to his room and collapse. Go to sleep and forget this day had ever happened.

He dumped his bag in the hallway and trudged his way to the kitchen, hoping for a drink. Instead, he got a shock he hadn't been hoping for. His mother.

"Mum!" he spluttered, straightening up and gazing up at the pale woman with wide eyes. "What are you doing here?"

She looked at him, one eyebrow raised in a show of amusement. "I live here darling."

"But, you're meant to be in Italy!"

"I got back early, there were some problems with the client I needed to see and I had to see to things at the office."

"Oh, well, how long are you staying?"

"A while, I've asked for some time off, I've been gone so long this time I decided I needed to come back and spend some time with you." She smiled happily.

"Oh..."

"So, I thought we'd go out for dinner, just you and me," she winked. "Or you can invite Linda if you want; I haven't seen her for ages."

The confused, slightly surprised expression slipped right off Tyson's face at the mention of his ex.

"NO, I mean, that, umm... Linda and I broke up mum." He blurted.

"Oh Sweety! Are you okay?" his mum walked forward, hugging him tightly.

"I'm fine; just..." he hesitated. "Never mind. Where do you want to go?" he asked, knowing the topic of dinner would make his mum forget all about Linda.

* * *

The next day Tyson woke up slowly, he felt horrible, and to make matters worse he had to go to school and face everybody again. The only good thing about going today was that it was a Friday and he had an entire weekend afterwards to figure out how to make a hole suddenly appear and swallow him up. The morning was quite, the house still and eerie as Tyson glanced out the window into a wall of misty white fog. His mother had gotten up early and left again, the professional looking stationary paper left on the kitchen table containing a note that informed him she had gone to catch her plane and that the number for the hotel in Hong Kong where she was staying was stuck to the fridge.

Tyson made himself a bowl of cereal and sat down on the couch, flicking on the tele and checking the news for the weather report. One more day, that was all he had to get through.

* * *

He left early, getting to school with a good forty minutes to spare before the bell rang. He had wanted to turn up just on time, so that no one had a chance to stop him before he got to class. So instead he ran through the small crowd full of early risers that actually liked school and disappeared into the senior library. Finding it empty of any students he moved over to a small alcove and sat down in a cushy chair, sinking into the material and rummaging through his school bag for his homework.

Thirty minutes later noise was starting to rise, students turned up in groups of twos and threes and the library filled up with kids that had forgotten this book or that answer to a question their teacher had set them for homework. Tyson frowned at the interruption o his solitude but didn't lift his head, instead, carrying on his reading his chemistry notes.

But just as he was about to close the notebook and start heading for class a dark shadow fell over his lap. Startled, Tyson looked up, hoping it was just a lost student from year seven. No such luck.

He was met by a sinister grin that turned quickly into a smirk as his eyes widened.

"Hey Tyson, buddy, I think we need to talk, don't you?" the bell rang as Tyson scrambled from his seat and a fist hit him in the face, jarring his neck as he fell backwards.

"Mason!"

**AN: so, what do you think? I know I left you on a cliff hanger but you have no idea how hard I have worked with this fic, it took me months just to come up with a plan that is already falling apart and at least two months to actually start typing it onto the computer.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it. **


	2. Pup

**AN: Okay... this was meant to be the first chapter... it's now the second because I got sidetracked...**

**Now... there has been a little confusion. **

**Tyson Evans = Snake**

**Damien Taran = Wolf**

**James Ryan = Eagle**

**Ben Daniels = Fox**

**I hope that clears everything up. In case anyone is wondering. This is Wolf's first chapter... and the Jame's in this is Eagle. They knew each other before apparently...**

**Warning: this does hold more swearing then last chapter. I'm sorry if you don't like that, it's not every second word, but it is still there.**

**Hope you like!**

**Pup**

Reverse back in time nine years, four months and six days... welcome to Damien Taran's fifteenth birthday party.

The party itself included Damien, his best friend James, a carton of eggs, and a very, very, very... soon to be pissed off neighbourhood bully.

The bully in question was an idiot, as most bullies usually are, and he had made the horrible mistake of mouthing off and attempting to hit, Damien's little sister.

The eggs were just to lure him out of his hidey hole.

You see, Damien had left his revenge for this particular night because he knew that John's, the bully in question, parents, were going on a short weekend holiday for their anniversary.

No parents meant no cops, and no cops meant John was about to be a very, very sorry little fuck. **(lol)**

It took no more than four eggs to get John to realise his house was being egged, and as the front door opened the lumbering brute received an egg to the face.

Damien turned to James. "Good aim Jamie!" he called as he made his way across the front lawn.

The next thing John knew, he was being shoved viciously into a wall and a fist was slamming into his face.

His head lolled back and he cried out, clutching his nose.

"Hi John." Damien growled, his only answer was a pathetic whimper. "You know why you're here don't you." It wasn't a question. John knew damn well why he was being attacked. But the bully shook his head anyway, and then thought better of lying when Damien's knee sunk deep into his stomach.

"Alright, alright! Yes, I know!" He moaned. "I know." He coughed, wheezing out the words as he instinctively tried to bend double, groaning as Damien stopped him.

"And are you ever going to do it again?" Damien snarled.

John was silent, still concentrating on breathing. Damien raised his fist and his knuckles cracked as they hit John's face.

"If you ever, ever, go near my sister again, you will regret it for the rest of your life." He whispered, lips close to John's ear as the boy was finally allowed to sink to the ground.

Then Damien stepped back, watched as three more eggs found their mark and walked away turning his back on the sobbing boy, James clapping him on the back as they made their way down the quiet street.

* * *

By the time they got back to Damien's place, it was just hitting 1am.

Unfortunately, no one was asleep yet.

They heard it from the end of the street. Screaming; the sound of breaking plates and cups. James winced for Damien's sake, but his friend just kept walking on in stoic silence, only the flare of his nostrils and the tightness in his jaw gave away the burning rage he was feeling.

They ran up the stairs of the apartment building two at a time, they passed window after window until they got to one that was open. It led to Damien's room and it had been purposefully left open so they could sneak back in quietly.

James crawled through the window first, slinging his backpack through before him, then, as Damien's mum started swearing angrily, Damien eased himself over the sill, closing the window behind him.

Both boys glanced at each other; sighing in unison as they plopped down on the floor beneath the window, backs resting against the wall.

They sat in awkward silence as the shrieking continued. Suddenly, a dark shadow broke off from the rest of the lumpy from of Damien's bed.

Surprised, James squeaked weakly. Damien cracked up, smirking at his friend as his younger sister shuffled over to them.

James glared as Damien's grim widened and he pulled Lily into his lap.

"Hey, are you okay Lils?" he murmured, kissing the top of her head briefly.

She shook her head and wrapped her thin arms around herself tightly.

"It's alright; do you wanna sleep in here tonight?"

The anxious four year old nodded quietly, thumb moving to her mouth.

There was a dull thunk and the bang of a door slamming.

Lily flinched and Damien picked her up, carrying her over to his bed. He noticed a fluffy grey wolf already snuggled up under the blankets and he grinned at the plush toy.

Lily reached out and clutched its ear, pulling it close to her as he tucked her in. The TV turned on and he sighed.

Finally.

They had finished.

There was the loud clanging of running footsteps on the stairs outside, signally his mother's departure.

A rustling behind him caused Damien to turn around. James was sliding into his sleeping bag, the old footy top he slept in glowing blue against the moonlight. **(1)**

Damien sighed again, "I'm going to have to take her with us tomorrow." James nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry, at least you don't have to skip school again, we'll take her to the park."

Damien closed his eyes.

"I got him right in the face!" Damien chuckled as his best friend started talking animatedly about their earlier revenge mission.

Settling down next to Lily he grinned. "Good aim Jamie, I knew I could count on you."

**AN: Shorter than usual. I have zero idea what colors england soccer teams are, so, I made it up! Sorry.**

**Ah well... I hope you liked it!**


	3. Kit

****

AN: Hello, long time no see. How are you all? Well, I'm writing this when I'm meant to be studying for exams. Oh the woes of being irresponsible and bored.

If you are wondering, which, I hope you're not because this characters name is actually canon. Ben Daniels, aka, Fox, is the focus of this chapter.

Enjoy!

Oh, and incase you are all horrified about the mistakes, I warn you, I have no microsoft word, which means no grammar or spelling checks and I'm not really a very patient sort of person. :D

Ben Daniels was glad he did not have his brothers name. His brother might not care that all his friends joked about how he had the same name as an alcohol brand but Ben didn't like it. And being mistaken for his brother was something Ben just could not condone.

So, when Jacks' new girlfriend peered through the screen door and squealed in glee when she saw her 'boyfriend,' happily chanting one of the slogans for the alcohol Ben slammed the wooden door in her face and walked away. Later that night Jack got an angry phone call.

Ben went pale when his twins**(an: I made him a twin, sorry) **head whipped around suddenly and blue-grey eyes focused a glare of death right on him. He crept from under his covers, where he had just been getting settled for a long, welcome nights sleep as Jacks' expression grew from outrage to down right fury. He tiptoed across the bedroom floor, wondering mildly why he was sneaking when he could feel his brothers gaze hot on his back. And was out the door just as he heard Jacks' mobile slam down heavily on the desk and his name was shouted loud in anger. "BEN!"

He ran for it, sprinting down steps and hallways, tearing around a corner and slamming his way through the backdoor and out into the backyard. He scrambled up the fence and vaulted over it with an agile flare before turning around and peering through a crack in the wooden boards. Jack stood on the other side, looking around for him, sniffing about like a hungry predator. "Benjamin, I will find you and when I do you will rue the day you ever decided you wanted to ruin my life!" Ben squeaked, walking slowly along the line of the fence, trying to be careful about where he placed his foot in case he made any loud noises that would alert Jack to his presence.

"Ben, Benny, Benny, Benny? Where are you?" His brothers voice called out hauntingly, wailing in the darkness and echoing coldly. "I will find you, I will, don't think..." he cut off suddenly and Ben stopped abruptly. Wondering what had happened. He stood in silence, motionless. And then... "Gotcha!" Ben felt hands grab him around his middle and he was brought down to the floor. He screamed, high pitched and short, struggling to get free as his brother laughed. "I told you, you can't hide from me." The struggle didn't last long. Jack was older, only by a few minutes but still, and stronger. "Ben, why did you shut the door in Anna's face? Are you jealous, because, well, she'll never like you in that way you know..."

"I'm not jealous!" Ben spat out. "She thought I was you, that stupid song..." He mumbled.

"Ahh..." Realisation dawned on Jack and he stopped holding Ben down, letting his little brother get up. "The song... well, I guess, no harm was done, we're going out on Saturday and she believed me when I told her I haven't seen her all day, but, you need to apologise to her."

Ben huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ben, I'm letting you off easy, you apologise or the punishment will be much, much worse."

Ben huffed again and got to his feet, sighing. "Fine. I'll talk to her tomorrow in school. I'm going to bed." He murmered. Reaching up and catching hold of the top of the fence he jumped over again. His brother followed, a little more slowly.

"How you can jump that easily will always be a mystery." Jack muttered as he landed hard.

Ben grinned.

**AN: Pointless, fluffy, short. I apologise. Next up... Eagle! Wooh. Shall I go with the usual he is mega hyper? Or make up my own personality?**


	4. Fledgling

**Fledgling**

James Ryan sat upside down on a damp wooden seat in the park. His head hung over the edge of the seat and his legs dangled from the top. His best friend Damien sat next to him, facing the right way up and watching his little sister as she slid down the dull yellow slide for the seventh time in a row. Lily reached the bottom and promptly climbed back up, pointedly ignoring the graffiti covered sign that stated **'NO CLIMBING THE SLIDE'** in big bold letters.

Damien sighed. James turned his head to the side to look at him.

"What?" he asked.

Damien shook his head. "Nothing."

James rolled his eyes. "Come on, mate."

Damien sighed again. "Don't they ever get tired of it; all the fighting, I mean?" He was deliberately not looking at James as he spoke.

It was James' turn to sigh. "I don't know, mate. They're adults. Since when does _anything_ they do make any sense?

Damien nodded. "Yeah, but still, it's not fair on Lily that she has to grow up around it."

James spun around so he was facing the right way up. "It's not fair on you either."

"Yeah, well I only have to survive a couple more years, Lily is only six, and she has forever to go."

James was silent. He looked over at Lily and smiled. He had always had a soft spot for his best friends' sister. He didn't have any brothers or sisters himself so he had kind of adopted Lily as his own.

"I don't know, mate." He said finally.

Damien sighed (again.) "We are such girls," he spoke suddenly, getting to his feet, "talking about our problems and shit." He stretched and clapped James on the back. "Let's go get the little troublemaker." And then he was running across the tanbark and scooping Lily up from her perch on top of the slide.

Lily squealed with delight as James got up and ran after his best friend and surrogate sister.

* * *

"James!"

James smiled as he walked into the living room of the small house he shared with his parents. "Hey, dad, what's going on?" his dad threw him a can of coke and told him the footy scores before settling back down. James sat on the chair next to him; mind only half on the football game in front of him.

He couldn't stop thinking about Damien and how different their lives were.

He had a loving mother and father who smiled and got along with one another. He always had enough of everything and never went without. While Damien had to put up with a mother who got drunk every night and only ever seemed to go out with men who abused both her and her kids.

It amazed James how different their lives were yet Damien was the most down to earth, happiest person he knew when he managed to forget about his home life.

James sighed. He didn't deserve the life he had. There had to be a way to fix things.

Their ream scored and James cheered along with his dad as his mother walked in.

"Hey, James, how was the sleepover?"

James turned around in his seat and grinned as his mum as she rubbed her red hair dry with a towel. She must have just gotten out of the shower.

"It was great. Lily crashed in Damien's room and we took her to the park today."

His mother smiled. "And – how's his mother?"

James hesitated. His mother knew a little bit of what Damien's mother was like but as his best friends request she didn't know everything.

"She was fine. We didn't really see much of her." He added.

"Okay…" His mother turned around. "I can't be bothered cooking tonight so I'm gonna call for Chinese. Tell me what you want before I get to the phone or I'll only order for one." She announced before running out of the living room and into the kitchen.

James got up and followed her, shoving his dad out of the way as he tried to push past him. His mum just laughed, running towards the phone.

"I WIN!"

**Long over due I know and I'm sorry. I hope you liked it though XD**


End file.
